08-21-2020, 10:49 PM
(08-20-2020, 04:53 PM)u974615 Wrote: What a frustrating headache! The Linux Foundation releases a new kernel like every 6 weeks and SoC manufacturers aren't releasing newer kernel builds for their SoC's. Please Rockchip and NXP, release the source code, and dependencies, under the GNU Public License or Lesser GNU Public License. That way it doesn't have to maintain by the OEM, or port it to the newer kernel versions, and it can be re-distributed via the myriad of other Linux kernel/Open Software distributors...etc. These things could be maintained and supported for over 10 years, much longer than a vendor would want to.
That would be awesome. But sometimes is impossible for legal reasons - those blobs may implement bits that are licensed from third parties. And sometimes even no third party may be involved, just some patented stuff. And as someone who's familiar with such situations first hand - the developers in the company may want stuff to be open-sourced, but the legal department is really apprehensive about potentially opening up patented stuff for anyone to use and suppress any such notion. Every time I try to open up any piece of code I have to go through a legal review process where it is determined whether the code contains anything that may either infringe on someone else's patents or expose our own intellectual property.
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